Transcription services translate verbal dictation into text documents. Typically, a user of a transcription service speaks information into a device to be stored as an audio file. When, for example, the user is a health care provider, the audio file can include patient-specific information such as the patient's name, age, and medical record number. The resulting dictation is given to a transcriptionist for translation into a text document. Because patient-specific information in the dictation is revealed to the transcriber, the transcription process places the patient's private information at risk of unauthorized disclosure.
Patient-specific information is referred to as protected health information (PHI). Protected health information generally includes health information that reasonably could be expected to allow identification of an individual. More specifically, protected health information is any information that identifies an individual, as well as the individual's relatives, employers, or household members. Protected health information can include, for example, names, addresses, dates (e.g., birth date, admission date, discharge date, date of death), contact information, medical record numbers, and account numbers.
Good medical practice requires that patients' private information be protected from disclosure or use without consent. Health care providers may also be liable under privacy laws, such as The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, for unauthorized disclosure of protected health information.
Some prior patent references attempt to protect information during the transcription processes. For instance, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0081428 to Malhotra et al. discloses a transcription system in which private information is filtered from dictation so that transcriptionists never have access to the private information. A software program extracts any private information and, after the transcription is completed, reinserts the removed private information back into the final report.
The disclosed methods and systems for information transcription are directed toward, but not limited to, improving the above-noted methods for transcribing medical dictation.